Ridiculous Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms ridiculous American [ri-dik-yuh-luhs] / rɪˈdɪk yə ləs /

adjective

1. causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable.

   a ridiculous plan.

   Synonyms: farcical, comical, droll, funny, ludicrous, nonsensical Antonyms: sensible

2. Slang. absurdly or unbelievably good, bad, crazy, etc..

   The concert was ridiculous, their best performance ever!

ridiculous British / rɪˈdɪkjʊləs /

adjective

1. worthy of or exciting ridicule; absurd, preposterous, laughable, or contemptible

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 ridiculous Idioms

1. see from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Related Words

See absurd.

Other Word Forms

• hyperridiculous adjective
• hyperridiculously adverb
• quasi-ridiculous adjective
• quasi-ridiculously adverb
• ridiculosity noun
• ridiculously adverb
• ridiculousness noun
• unridiculous adjective
• unridiculously adverb

Etymology

Origin of ridiculous

First recorded in 1540–50; from Late Latin rīdiculōsus “laughable, droll,” equivalent to Latin rīdicul(us), adjective derivative of rīdiculum ridicule ( def. ) + -ōsus -ous ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This sounded so ridiculous coming out of Chip’s mouth that Jonah fell into the grass laughing.

From Literature

Washed up on the beach, just below Selkie’s rock, were two purple caps with ridiculous fish on top.

From Literature

It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many VAR ridiculous errors.

From BBC

"Purely from a security aspect, it's a bit ridiculous that I have to put a door stopper under my door to prevent somebody from kicking the door open," he said.

From BBC

"We're just starting to have computational systems that can exhibit intelligent-like behavior. But they look nothing like the brain, and the amount of resources that they require is ridiculous, frankly," Theilman said.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• absurd
• bizarre
• fantastic
• foolish
• goofy
• impossible
• incredible
• laughable
• ludicrous
• nonsensical
• outrageous
• preposterous
• silly
• unbelievable
• wacky

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.